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Simply This Moment - Buddhist Meditation and Theravada ...

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2 WHY I TELL SILLY JOKESAnattā <strong>and</strong> the Five Kh<strong>and</strong>has16 th September 1998.I have previously mentioned the Three Characteristics of Existence, the ti-lakkhaa,<strong>and</strong> this evening I want to exp<strong>and</strong> on that by focusing on anattā or non-self. I’mdoing this so that you can take advantage of the samādhi you’ve developed so farduring this Rains Retreat. <strong>This</strong> will enable you to gain insights into the nature of themind, the nature of the body, the nature of this universe, <strong>and</strong> in particular to penetrateinto this truth of anattā. Penetrating the truth of anattā is the most fundamentalbreakthrough. It is that wisdom, that underst<strong>and</strong>ing, which when it’s attained, willenable you to know that you are a Stream Winner, a Sotāpanna. It will also make theDhamma of the Lord Buddha abundantly clear. It will give you underst<strong>and</strong>ing ofwhat this practice is all about <strong>and</strong> also where it leads. You’ll underst<strong>and</strong> whatNibbāna is <strong>and</strong> how this whole process works.Focussing on anattā (non-self) is a most important part of vipassanā, or insightpractice. Throughout the retreat, I’ve stressed that you cannot split samatha <strong>and</strong>vipassanā, <strong>and</strong> even now I’m not expressing this teaching as anything different fromsamatha. I’m just focussing on another aspect of the practice <strong>and</strong> using therecollection or investigation of anattā as a means of penetrating truth, as a means ofdeveloping deeper <strong>and</strong> deeper calm in the present moment. Every deep insight thatyou gain should lead to peace <strong>and</strong> the peace that it brings is a measure of that insight.Sometimes people like to measure insight with convincing arguments <strong>and</strong>descriptions, or by their brilliant Dhamma talks or books. That is not a measure ofinsight at all. I’ve known many people who have written brilliant books withouthaving any deep insight at all. And knowing the nature of their lives you can see thatthe underst<strong>and</strong>ing they have is basically borrowed from someone else. It is not theirown. The measure of insight is the ability to make the mind very peaceful <strong>and</strong> calm.Anyone who experiences deep insight will have no trouble at all in gaining jhānas.20

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